Political Landscape:

'B' victory equals lunch

Measure victory means councilman buying food for another, among other local reactions.

The City Hall in the Park folks may have celebrated victory this week with the passage of measure B, but Newport Beach City Councilman Don Webb still owes Councilman Keith Curry lunch over the vote.

It seems Webb, who supported the measure, had a friendly wager with Curry, who opposed it, over how much support the ballot measure would win. Webb bet Curry Measure B would garner at least 66% of the vote.

Webb was anxious to find out whether he’d have to eat some humble pie at lunch with Curry as the votes slowly began to trickle in Tuesday night at the City Hall in the Park watch party.

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“It’s frustrating to sit and wait,” Webb said when only a fraction of Newport’s 89 precincts were in late Tuesday, but he insisted he wouldn’t lose any sleep over the wager.

Measure B passed, as Webb predicted, with 52.8% of the vote. There’s no word yet on when and where the two will dine.

NO ON B KNOWS PARTYing

They lost the fight over Measure B, but Newporters Vote No on B’s lively election party won hands-down over City Hall in the Park’s somewhat more reserved affair.

The No on B group fought for their right to party on election night at the Corona del Mar residence of supporter Bernie Svalstad.

The partygoers drank wine and munched on goodies such as spinach rolls and meatballs as they watched Super Tuesday primary results on Fox News. Local election results were projected from a computer onto a large screen at the front of the room. Although returns for Measure B showed Measure B with a good 10-point lead, No on B supporters remained in good spirits.

Curry was the life of the party, delivering toasts and good cheer through the evening.

“We’re closing in on them,” Curry howled at one point in the evening as early election returns showed a slight boost in No on B votes.

“No one was paid to be here,” Curry told No on B supporters. “You’re all here because you want to be here Even if we don’t win, we still did the right thing.”

The crowd was more subdued at the City Hall in the Park party at a clubhouse in a Newport Beach gated community. The mood was one of cautious optimism.

Party organizers struggled to get a laptop connected to the Internet to view live election results from the Registrar of Voter’s website. Early results were obtained by phone before an Internet connection was secured. Most supporters were out the door before 11 p.m.